Corus raises reversing mill plate prices again

UK-based steelmaker Corus, the European subsidiary of the Indian steel giant Tata Steel, has announced that it has increased transaction prices for reversing mill plate by £80/mt on all new orders from April 23.
 
The company said that the increase is driven by the continued increases in raw material costs and increasing demand for steel plate, particularly in northern Europe. As SteelOrbis previously reported, Corus had raised its reversing mill plate prices by £60/mt from February 7 and by another £60/mt from March 22.
 
Corus' commercial director long products Martin Maley said, "Demand for reversing mill plate has improved markedly in all regions, with northern European markets showing strong and sustained demand. This comes at a time when inventory in supply chains across the globe has been depleted to levels at, or below, current demand."
 
"As a consequence of low inventory levels, and increased demand, mill lead times have also extended significantly during 2010. At the same time steelmakers are facing increased production costs relating to continued upward movement in raw material costs," Maley concluded.